


So Much More Than That

by randomfandomimagine



Series: Imagines (Reader Insert) [46]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Other, Swearing, mini spoilers from season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 05:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19846672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomfandomimagine/pseuds/randomfandomimagine
Summary: The kids realize how close Y/N and Steve are and take matters into their own hands to give them a little boost on their relationship.





	So Much More Than That

My eyes were absently watching the road pass by as Dustin filled the silence in the car with his rambling. He was saying something about this radio system he had come up with.

“Cerebro…” I repeated, turning in the seat to look at him in the backseat. “Like in X-Men?”

“Exactly!” He grinned in excitement. “So I can reach far and wide”

“Yeah” Steve briefly looked at the boy in the rear view mirror before focusing his eyes back on the road. “To talk to his… girlfriend”

I noticed the hint of mockery at the last word, so I eyed him.

“See? No one believes it” Lucas slapped Dustin across the arm. “Suzie doesn’t exist”

Will rolled his eyes at their bickering and glanced at me in boredom. I pouted at him, understanding his exhaustion with the subject. Lucas and Mike had been talking about Max and El all summer, and this was probably the first time they hung out without them on the first place.

“She does! She’s super smart and hotter than Phoebe Cates” Dustin pushed Lucas a little.

“I miss El…” Mike muttered under his breath, making me chuckle.

“That’s the thing!” Steve tapped the steering wheel. “It’s a little hard to believe”

“Where do you know her from?” I decided to encourage him a little instead.

Everyone in the car complained, telling me off for it while Dustin’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement. He started rambling, and to be honest, he was speaking so fast that I didn’t get much except for the fact that he met her at camp.

“Okay, we’re almost there” Steve brought the car to a halt. “Everybody out”

We exited the car and began walking towards the forest, following the kids as they ran up ahead and began talking amongst them.

“Any idea what they’re doing?” I asked Steve as we began trudging through the floor filled with dry leaves and roots.

“Nope” Steve replied, eyeing them to make sure they didn’t go too fast.

“Shenanigans” I joked, looking at him and earning a beautiful grin.

Not watching where I was stepping, I tripped over some roots and dangerously leaned forward. Looking for something to hold on to, my hand clutched Steve’s shoulder while his arm quickly wrapped around my waist.

“You okay there?” He chuckled, casually pulling at me so I stood up straight again.

“Yeah” I muttered, holding on to him just slightly longer than necessary. “Sorry”

I averted my gaze when I noticed he was staring, grinning in my direction in a way that flustered me. It was then when I saw that Will, Dustin, Lucas and Mike had witnessed the whole thing.

“What are you kids looking at?”

“It's fine!” Steve calmly said, carelessly waving a hand in the air. “Catastrophe avoided!”

I was relieved when they got back to their conversation, even if Dustin’s glance lingered longer than the other’s. Those kids were too smart for their own good.

“You didn’t hurt your ankle or anything, right?” Steve checked, kindly tapping my arm.

“No, I’m okay” I then looked at him and jokingly batted my eyelashes at him. “Thanks to you, my hero”

He let out a surprised guffaw and theatrically bowed to me in acknowledgment.

“Would you like me to carry you through the danger?” He gallantly offered me.

“It’s already gone to your head” I shoved my hand against his temple, accidentally messing up his hair.

“Whoa, hey, careful there!” He complained, frantically going to fix it. “Don’t mess with the hair!”

I rolled my eyes at him and stuck my tongue out before walking ahead of him. Steve caught up, casually putting an arm around me and squeezing my sides to make me jump in surprise.

I smiled when Steve laughed to himself at his mischievous actions, but continued walking behind the kids as we neared the cabin.

“You don’t have to stay, you know?” Steve gently took me by the wrist, stopping me from walking. “I can handle this on my own”

“It’s fine” I shrugged a little and continued following the kids. “They said they wanted me here, and I don’t mind”

I could tell something was bothering Steve when he let go of me and sighed. I just couldn’t think of what, since he always loved hanging out with the kids. Especially Dustin. He was like the unofficial mom of the group, always looking after the children. Well, not children anymore, but…

Feeling his gaze fixed on me, I looked up from the leaves crunching beneath my feet and into Steve’s eyes. When I did, he rolled his eyes, surely at the conversation the kids had in the background.

“Remind me again why you need babysitting?” He asked any of them who would answer.

“Because this place is dangerous” Dustin said as a matter-of-fact way, motioning to the forest we were in with a movement of his arms.

“So you need both me and Y/N looking after you” Steve half-questioned, holding his glance.

“Hopper wouldn’t let us come without…” Mike paused his sentence to use finger quotes. “Without ‘adult’ supervision”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t consider myself an adult either” I humored him, playfully nudging Steve. “Thanks, Michael”

He scrunched his nose at my remark and kept walking. Steve groaned next to me, begrudgingly trudging through the woods.

“Why are you so grumpy, Harrington?” I nudged him again, teasing him with a wide grin.

“Aren’t you annoyed that we have to be here while we could be doing something else?”

“Uh… First of all, no, I’m not annoyed” I replied, holding one finger up and lifting another up as I kept enumerating. “Two, you love the kids. And three, doing something like what?”

“You’re too nice” He just replied, shaking his head a little, making a tuft of hair bounce against his forehead.

“Don’t try to be all tough and mysterious, Harrington” I gently punched him in the shoulder. “Doesn’t suit you”

“Now what does that mean, buddy?” Steve stopped me again, raising his eyebrows in defiance.

I planted my feet with a smirk, smugly crossing my arms over my chest before answering.

“That you’re a soft sensitive soul… with a terrible hairdo”

“You take that back right now!”

Knowing he would retaliate, I began to run away, but Steve grabbed me before I could escape. I yelped as his arms wrapped around me from behind and he lifted me off the ground.

“Put me down! Steve!!”

“Take it back!!”

“Never!”

Still holding me with one arm, he dropped me so my feet touched the ground again and attacked me with his other hand, tickling me until I squirmed and giggled in pain. I loudly yelped when he bounced me up and down, faking an evil laughter.

“Hello?” Dustin interrupted us. “We have no time to lose!”

“Sorry…” I muttered, holding on to Steve’s neck as he still held me up.

“Son of a bitch, I can’t believe it…” The kid walked away, shaking his head.

“What is it you’re doing anyway?” Steve asked as he carefully put me back down.

None of them replied, continuing their march towards the cabin. Steve and I exchanged a confused and concerned glance, but I shrugged a little in resignation.

“El is not here” I said, hoping I was right and they weren’t up to anything. “How much trouble can they possibly get in?”

“Nah” Steve shook his head, nibbling on his bottom lip. “Those little shits are plotting something, I just know it”

“Why aren’t you playing Dragons and Castles on the first place?” I asked Will, smirking when he turned around to me.

“It’s Dungeons and Dragons!” He corrected me in annoyance, to which I smirked bigger.

“Don’t fall for it, my friend” Dustin rested a hand over Will’s shoulder. “Y/N knows the name very well, it's just to annoy you”

“Guilty as charged” I said, ruffling the Byer’s kid hair with a soft smile. Will scowled at first, but then budged and smiled in return.

We finally made it to Hopper’s cabin and walked inside. The kids immediately got comfortable hanging out in the couch and the ground.

“Can you guys get the boxes in El’s room?” Mike asked us, so we peeked at the door.

On top of the bed we could see two boxes, one big that Steve went to pick up, and another smaller one that I went to carry before he could lift it up himself too.

As we turned back to the door, however, it suddenly slammed closed. I heaved a sigh, since both our hands were busy and we couldn’t open it again ourselves.

“Children, the door closed” Steve patiently told them, grunting as he struggled to carry the heavy box. “Guys!”

“We know it closed” Mike calmly responded from the other end.

“What the…?” I uttered, meeting Steve’s glance as he turned to me.

He put the box in the ground and tried opening the door himself, to no avail. They had locked the door from the other side.

“Hey” Steve slammed the door with his fist. “Hey, assholes! Open up!”

“We’ll open when you two talk!” Dustin’s voice tiredly told us.

“About what?” Steve and I exclaimed in unison.

“Just talk!” 

“Henderson, open the damn door!”

“I said no!”

“Let us out, shithead!”

I tugged at Steve’s shirt until he looked at me and then I leaned against the door so the kids could hear me better.

“Okay, guys, you got us” I tiredly told them, hoping my calmer approach worked. “Really funny, now will you please open the door?”

“It’s not a prank” Lucas spoke up. “You two need to talk”

“Talk about what?!”

“You’ll figure it out”

Both Steve and I rushed to try the doorknob again, our hands brushing as we gripped it and turned it even if we knew it wouldn’t work.

“Shit” Steve sighed, sitting down on the ground with his back against the door. “Wish we could open it telepathically”

“Telekinetically” I corrected him as I sat next to him.

“What?”

“Telepathy is communicating with someone else’s mind, you meant telekinesis”

Steve stared at me in awe for a few seconds before shoving his shoulder against mine.

“Whatever, Smarty-Pants” He teased me, still smiling wide. I smiled too, returning the shove.

*

It had been at least half an hour, and the kids still hadn’t let us out. We didn’t really come up with any solutions about it yet either. I sighed as I absently played with Steve’s hair since his head was on my lap. We thought that since we might be there for a while, we might as well get comfortable.

“Any ideas?” Steve muttered, chewing on his fingernail.

“No” I absently swatted him away so he would stop.

“When we get out, those little shits are dead”

“You mean _if_ we get out”

“There’s an idea! The sick routine?”

“Nah, they won’t fall for that”

Steve sighed dramatically and folded his arms over his chest, getting comfortable in my lap. I continued to play with his hair, since it was fluffy and soft and I loved it.

“Well, at least I get to hang out with you” He muttered, eyes directed to the ceiling.

“What does that mean?” I shook him a little until he met my gaze.

“I don’t know” Steve shrugged a little, sitting up. “Today I wanted to pick you up and do something together, but they beat me to it”

Was that why he was so upset about before, because he wanted to hang out with me and instead we were babysitting? Or, actually, locked in a room for the kid’s amusement.

I stared at him, but he occupied himself in passing a hand through his hair and avoiding my glance. He rested his elbow on his knee, still averting his eyes, so I softly kicked him in the foot.

“Steve…” I teased him, smirking because it was rare to see a bashful Steve Harrington.

“What? I miss you, okay?” He shrugged nonchalantly, but his timid demeanor betrayed his cool façade. I actually found this side of him way cuter than his usual ‘popular kid’ one.

“I miss you too, dummy” My words finally managed to earn me a glance from him.

He opened his eyes wide, though, when I leaned closer to leave a kiss on his cheek. Then we chuckled at the adorable moment we had just shared, and the sudden tension seemed to disappear.

My heart suddenly skipped a beat when I figured it out. 

I was locked in there with him, thinking that he was probably the person I preferred to be trapped with. Having just let him lay on my lap and playing with his hair like it was something friends usually did.

I thought back to our little stroll down the forest and how we kept… flirting. That was just the right word, and we didn’t even notice. It was just the way our friendship worked, the way we always interacted. Or maybe it was just my crush on him getting out of hand, because I had certainly been crushing on him for a long time. The question was… knowing this, what was the kid’s exact purpose?

“Ah, crap…” I uttered, now being my turn to avoid eye contact.

“What?” Steve scooted closer to me until our sides were touching.

“I get it now”

“Get what?”

“What they want us to talk about!”

“Well, what is it?”

“We are so close that they think we’re crushing on each other”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…”

“So… do you have a crush on me?”

“Why don’t you tell me first?”

“Y/N” Steve’s exasperated tone piqued my interest, so I reluctantly glanced at him. There was a smug expression on his face that I found pretty attractive. “I’ve been flirting with you for two years, what do you think?”

“What?!” Apparently, I was just as or even more oblivious than what the kids thought. “That was flirting?”

“Yeah, thanks for noticing” Steve chuckled, taking it pretty well considering I had mistaken his attempts for playfulness.

“God…” I snuggled closer to him, hiding my face on his chest. “I’m so stupid…”

“You’re not stupid” He comforted me, laughing a little as his hand rested on my waist, accepting the closeness. “You’re just adorably unaware”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I exclaimed, covering my face with my hands.

“Like what? ‘Hey, Y/N, I like you, wanna go out with me?’ That’s lame”

“Well, if you had stopped thinking about being cool for a moment…”

“But I _am_ cool, when am I not cool?”

“Whatever…”

“So, hey” He softly pulled away, forcing me to look into his eyes. “You didn’t answer my question”

“What question?”

“Wanna go out with me?”

I chuckled in embarrassment, and I was pretty sure I was blushing. I looked into his kind brown eyes as he stared expectantly. It took me a few more seconds to recover from the unexpected question, but I managed a nod.

Steve grinned and slowly leaned closer to me. I did too, ignoring the racing of my heart, and closed my eyes when I felt his lips brushing against mine.

Dozens of thoughts popped up in my mind at the same time. I was kissing my best friend. The kids were right, much to my dismay. And they were in the other room, probably wondering how we could be so dense. Things were going to change between me and Steve now. But as we gently kissed, all of that slowly faded when I realized how perfect it was.

How soft his lips were, how his hand cupping my cheek caused a delightful shiver in my spine. How my hands sinking in his soft hair softly pulled at it to deepen the kiss. How, when we pulled away, his smile rested against my mouth for just a second. And how his eyes were watching me adoringly as we distanced from each other.

“Dustin was right” Steve suddenly said, delicately taking my hand in his.

“About what?” I almost melted when he brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

“You’re really cool and beautiful but…” Steve shook his head with a small smile. “You’re so much more than that”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, you’re smart too. And funny and kind…”

“What else?”

“And your boyfriend is amazing”

I laughed at his silly comment, but I felt a peaceful calm as I snuggled closer to him. I liked the sound of that… Steve was now my boyfriend. I was going out with Steve Harrington.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and nuzzled his shoulder, smiling big when he lovingly squeezed me and kissed me in the head. We were so comfortable there that we actually forgot to ask the kids to let us out. Not that we wanted to leave anymore.


End file.
